by Moe Zilla

Created on: October 02, 2010

Julie's father has a black-belt in karate - and he wants her to try the sport too! Julie's inspired by "the dazzling actress" who stars in her favorite action movies, and decides to give Kung Fu a try. She sees the actress's autographed photo when she first arrives at the martial arts school. And she also sees trophies in a display case, before signing up for the "Tiny Tigers" class.

 
"Julie Black Belt: The Kung Fu Chronicles" shows every step along Julie's journey. She imagines her instructor will be a wise old man, but instead it's an enthusiastic young teacher. She's clumsy in her first practice session, and gets teased by her brother. She worries that the other students are learning their Kung Fu faster.
 
Her teacher gives her some encouraging advice - "A black belt is just a white belt that doesn't quit." She remembers her favorite actress, and remembers that she never gave up. She starts practicing her karate moves even more, and begins waiting for her next class with excitement. Soon it's time to prepare for a big test, which will determine whether Julie gets a yellow belt.
 
The story is simple, reminding me a little bit of an anime comic book. It's even illustrated with cartoon-like illustrations. Charlene Chua always draws Julie with enormous eyes, along with a big, realistic smile. The colors fill each page, though it's sometimes just a swatch of bright color to fill up the background.
 
Some backgrounds even offer a halo of yellow sunshine, to suggest the power of karate. And there's white rays of light as Julie bounds onto the mat to test for her yellow belt. As Julie's parents watch, she's awarded the honor, and they tell Julie that they're very proud of her. But then her parents present her with a special gift - a photo of Julie's favorite actress, autographed with congratulations.
 
"Julie Black Belt: The Kung Fu Chronicles" ends with the words "Black belt, here we come," though by its last page Julie is still just a yellow belt. Her real accomplishment is sticking with her training, even though her early progress was discouraging.  The character of Julie isn't particularly engaging or detailed, since she's more of a generic character for an instructive tale about perseverance. But I imagine young readers will be fascinated by the book's slick graphics - especially if they're also interested in Kung Fu!

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